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Arts Roundups

Shanghai's art world is gearing up for the art event of the year, the SHContemporary, at the Shanghai Exhibition Hall from September 9 - 12, and as the city's galleries tend to open new shows along...
Last updated: 2015-11-09


Shanghai's art world is gearing up for the art event of the year, the SHContemporary, at the Shanghai Exhibition Hall from September 9 - 12, and as the city's galleries tend to open new shows along side that event, openings of new exhibitions are a bit scarce if you were looking to head to a gallery this weekend.

So maybe check out something that's closing that you haven't had a chance to see. Here's a roundup of some new art exhibitions, some closing exhibitions, and various fodder.

First the fodder:

-A marriage of retail brand marketing and urban street culture made in heaven, "PONY presents Wall Lords Finals 2010" is this weekend, with events on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Wall Lords is purportedly the biggest graffiti event in Asia, and graffiti artists and crews from all over the continent will be competing this Sunday from 10am at the main event at the KIC Outdoor Basketball court (next to the Jiangwan Sports Center). Yes, this main event is Sunday, but they’ve got three days of graffiti-related hippin' and hoppin' activities planned. If you click on the event listing right here, you can check out that flyer for the Friday and Saturday events. Their main webpage is right here.

-And, hey, on a superficially related note to that graffiti thing, a new bio-pic of Jean-Michel Basquiat has just come out called Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child, directed by Tamra Davis. Incidentally, this is the same person who directed the Brittany Spears movie Crossroads. Anyways, I haven't seen the Basquiat flick yet, but the reviews are good. Maybe keep an eye out for that in the DVD store if you're interested.

-Here’s a great Chinese art exhibition database website a friend turned me on to a while back: ArtLinkArt. I know not from whence it came or how long it's been around, but they've got great gallery listings from Shanghai and all over the place, as well as on-the-ground snap shots of ongoing exhibitions. Really quite wonderful. With these on-the-ground shots of exhibitions, it's like you don’t have to even leave the house anymore.

-Another web link. Click here to check out photos of last month's one-day M120 Re-Used show. Pictures are from office339 (see: The Foundry) and came to our humble attention through Shanghaieye.net.

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Opening Soonish


Sweet & Sour: Ying Yefu @ Art Labor 2.0
Opens: August 29



Opening this Saturday at Shanghai gallerist Martin Kemble’s new Art Labor 2.0 gallery is "Sweet & Sour", 41 new gongbi ink paintings on rice paper from Ying Yefu. Says the presser: "His work has that rare combination of youthful freedom of ideas with a maturity of vision that exceeds his peers." Youthful freedom... mature vision... there you have it. Said press release goes on to assure us of the particular import of this exhibition: "It will be a huge thing."

If you haven't had a chance to check out this new Art Labor 2.0 space, here's a great opportunity to do so. SmartShanghai had an interview with Kemble last week, which you can read by clicking here.

Closing Soonish


Skin -- Dai Guangyu Solo Exhibition @ Ifa Gallery
Closing: August 31



Landscape painting, erotic imagery, inherited Chinese feminism, shirts with really long sleeves -- "use your organs as you please". Chengdu artist Dai Guangyu solo show "Skin" at Ifa has the artist wrestling with gender and cultural stereotypes in representations of the metaphorical and literal fig leaves that society imposes on the individual.

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Ghosts and Men from Badong – Ji Yun-Fei Solo Exhibition @ James Cohan Gallery
Closing: August 29



Fresh off a showing at the New York branch of James Cohan Gallery, Beijing artist Ji Yun-Fei brings his utopian visions back to Shanghai for "Ghosts and Men from Badong". The exhibition is comprised of new paintings by Ji Yun-Fei on paper, as well as his central work: a 32-foot long hand scroll, "The Three Gorges Dam Migration", published by the Library Council of The Museum of Modern Art in New York. New historicism, spiritualism, ghost stories.

Also, James Cohen has that nice little garden. Ideal for sitting, drinking an ice tea from the Kedi, and having a ciggy.

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Already Opened, Not Closing Soon, But Go


Zeng Fanzhi Solo Exhibition @ Rockbund Art Museum
Runs: August 12 to October 12



Since the '90s or so, Wuhanese artist Zeng Fanzhi has been acclaimed as one of the central figures of Chinese contemporary art -- he's an expensive guy -- and the enormous Rockbund Art Museum is hosting quite an arresting show of some of his new stuff and some of his old stuff. It's a bridging of the past to the future kind of thing -- "contemporaneity". A central theme joining the works is the artist's exploration of the relationship between man and nature and the argument for environmental tolerance, through the renderings of imaginary landscapes and such. These tortured landscape paintings are a hallmark of his, and you should check them out in person. Incidentally, on a personal note, they remind me of rabbit genocide movie "Watership Down" for some reason.

I haven't had the chance to check out Rockbund yet but I've heard it's... "sublime".

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Laura Paperina Solo Show @ 18 Gallery
Runs: July 29 – Sept. 12



Your trusted source on the web for Shanghai-related stuff -- drunk or sober -- SmartShanghai.com already had a little write-up about Italian artist Laura Paperina's solo exhibition at 18 Gallery, and we stand behind this assessment. Pop culture zaniness abounds in all forms, all over the place, creating a sensation in the viewer not unlike eating Fruit Loops and bleach.

Click here for the aforementioned write-up.

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Front and top image with this article is "Little Boy" (2006) by Zeng Fanzhi.

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